Shoemaking



y 1940- E. w. WILKINSON ET AL 853] SHOEMAKING Filed June 27, 1939 2 Sheets-Shget l y E. w. WILKINSON ET AL 2,203,531

SHOEMAKING Filed June 27, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 16, 1940 UNITED STATES SHOEMAKIN G Edward W. Wilkinson and George D. Hurd, Wakefield, Mas's.,assignors to L. B. Evans Son Company, Wakefield, Mass, a corporation of Massa chusetts Application June 27, 1939, Serial No. 281,368

7 6 Claims.

This invention relates to shoemaking and conv with a shank piece and shank stiiiener', the lining is replaced and a heel is attached. The operation of inserting the counter as heretofore carried out is difiicult because the rear ends of the vamp lie inside of the forward ends of the quarters. The result is that the flange of the counter must be cut back to clear the rear ends of the vamp, and the side walls of the counter are unsupported in the overlapping area. Furthermore the lining must be cut at the overlapping area so that it can be lifted for the insertion of the counter. A more detailed description of this prior art practice is found in U. 8-. Letters Patent 25 No, 1,861,844, isued to M. L. Dodge.

One object of our invention is to facilitate the manufacture of turned opera slippers by eliminating the necessity for either turning'the heel pocket or for disturbing it by inserting a molded counter after the shoe has been turned, an object which we accomplish by molding the quarters and the lining together right side out with the counter and thus forming a completely finished heel pocket unit to be incorporated into the shoe 35 after the forepart has been made in the usual way.

Another object of the invention is toreduce the cost of manufacture by eliminating the operation of lasting the heel pocket, and a further ob- 40 ject of the invention is to make a turned opera slipper wherein the overlapping area of the vamp and quarters is smoother and more seamly than in slippers made by the methods now in use.

An important advantage of the invention resides in the fact that our improved method of shoemaking permits the use of counter stiffeners accurately molded to fit the right and left shoes of a pair; that is to say, a counter stifiener for a 50 right shoe may be employed which is different in shape from that of a stiffener designed for a left shoe.

Another advantage of the invention is that the side walls of the counter are supported at all points by the attaching flange, since it is not necessary to cut the flange back to accommodate the rear end of the vamp.

The method of our invention comprises temporarily securing a sole to the bottom of a last, lasting a vamp in inside out condition to the sole, and then stitching the vamp to the sole forwardly of the center of the shank so that the rear ends of the Vamp are not attached to the sole. The

forepart of the shoe thus formed is removed from the last and turned right side out. A shank piece, which may or may not have a steel shank stiffener secured thereto, is then tacked to the bottom of a second last, the last is inserted in the turned forepart of the shoe, and the rear ends of the vamp are drawn over the last and tacked to the shank piece. Then a previouslymoldedheel pocket containing a counter having a full-length attaching flange is slipped over the last beneath the sole and over the rear ends of the vamp, the rear end of the sole is temporarily lifted up, and the forward ends of the finished heel pocket are tacked to the shank piece," the tacks also passing through the rear ends of the vamp. Cement is applied to the shank part of the attaching flange of the heel pocket, and the sole is then pressed down and cemented to the said attaching flange. The heel seat of the heel pocket may now be secured to the shank piece, and a heel attached to the slipper in the usual manner.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5 are views in perspective showing various stages in the manufacture of turned opera slippers according to our invention,

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of a molded heel pocket, and

Fig. 6 is a view in transverse cross section through the heel portion of a finished slipper showing the manner in which the heel is attached.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the construction of the shoe is begun by tacking a leather turn sole [0 to the bottom of a last i l with the tread surface of the sole against the last and the channeled face exposed. A short sole l0 may be used, as illustrated in Fig. l, or a long sole 3!] as illustrated in Fig. 5. The vamp [2, which in the case of opera slippers is always a solid self-contained unit comprising an upper and a lining, is worked over the last II in inside out condition and its margin is first temporarily secured to the sole ill and then permanently united thereto by a line of stitching l3 which is buried in the channel of the sole indicated by the line 35. The stitching I3 extends forwardly on both sides of the vamp from points back of the ball line leaving the rear ends of the vamp l2 unsecured to the sole l0. about an inch of the overlasted margin of the vamp on each side thus being left free. The surplus upper material is trimmed off so that the overlasted margin of the vamp l2 lies fiat on the sole H), the tacks securing the sole to the last are removed, and the forepart of the shoe which has thus been formed is turned right side out.

The next step in the process is to secure a fiber shank piece Hi to the bottom of a second last M which is provided with an iron plate l5 secured to its bottom and extending to the ball line. Secured to the exposed face of the shank piece I 6 is a steel shank stiffener I! provided with an elongated slot I8. The last M with the shank piece I6 is then inserted into the turned forepart of the shoe, and the free rear ends of the vamp I2 are drawn tightly over the last 14 and tacked to the shank piece l6 by the tacks IS, the rear end of the sole l being temporarily lifted up during this tacking operation. This stage of construc tion is illustrated in Fig. 2.

A premolded heel pocket unit comprising an upper 20, a stiffener 24, and a lining 25, which has been given apermanent shape exactly fitting it to the rear end of the last M, is then placed on the last so that the forward ends fit over the tacked rear endsof the vamp l2 and under the sole l0. Then the'forward ends of the heel pocket unit are drawn tightly over the last, and tacks 22 are driven by hand through the forward ends of the heel pocket flange and the rear ends of the vamp l2, andare clenched in the shank piece i6. A row of tacks 23 is then driven around the heel seat by machine or by hand, and the heel seat of the heel pocket 26 is thus secured to the shank piece Hi. All the tacks are turned over and clenched when they are driven through the ma-' terials of the shoe and against the iron plate I 7 of the last.

The flanged margin of the heel pocket 20 is roughened as indicated at 25 in Figs. 3 and 4 at its forward ends and coated with pyroxylin or other cement, and the rear end of the sol W is then replaced on the last bottom and pressed tightly against the cemented portion of the heel pocket so that the sole becomes permanently secured to the heel pocket 20 as well as to the vamp l2. It will be understood that the materials of the heel pocket unit are cemented together in a unit-bonded structure throughout the flange so that no portion of the lining is loose or unattached in the finished shoe.

'When a short sole is used, such as thatillustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the shoe is completed as the result of the foregoing process except for the heel attaching operation. If a long sole is used as illustrated in Fig. 5 at 30, a row of nails 3| is driven around the heel-seat portion of the sole to secure it to the flange of the heel pocket and to the fiber shank piece [6.

After the sole has been completely attached, as suggested in Fig. 1 or 5, the cutting-on operation may be conveniently carried out, that is to say, the heel seat of the shoe may be shaped by cutting to accommodate the concave upper surface of the heel.

Rubber heels are generally used on opera slippers, and in Fig.6 is illustrated a rubber heel 26 of commercial type having an interior wooden aaoassi plug 2'1. An attaching nail 28 is driven through the heel and seated against the surface of the wooden plug 21, and the shank of the nail penetrates the end of the short sole ill, the slot IS in the metal shank stiffener I1, and is clenched in the fiber shank piece l6. Thus the nail 28 locks the sole H] to the heel and to the shank piece [6. Subsequently or at the same time other nails 29 are driven through the heel to secure it in place. A similar construction is used when the long sole 30 is employed. For further reference to the specific details of this attaching construction attention is called to our prior U. S. Patent No. 2,165,188, issued July 4, 1939, for improvements in the manufacturing of turn shoes.

By following the method above outlined it will be apparent that we produce an opera slipper of strong construction which retains the flexibility incident to turn construction but avoids the hitherto difllcult operations of lasting the heel pocket and inserting the molded counter after the shoe is turned with the consequent disturbance of the lining of the heel pocket. The rear ends of thevamp l2 are not stitched to the sole ill, in order to admit locating the forward ends of the heel pocket unit between the sole and the shank piece, and incidentally to facilitate inserting the second last I4 in the turned forepart of the shoe. It should be pointed out that the forward corners of the heel pocket 20 come directly in contact with and overlap the rear corners of the vamp and that nothing is interposed between them. Furthermore the counter fiange is uninterrupted and runs for the full length of the heel pocket so that the counter is supported and firmly tied down in the overlapping area, a feature which is a distinct improvement over the ordinary construction wherein the counter flan e is cut back and does not extend into the overlapping area. Furthermore the heel pocket lining 25 is bound down beneath the shank piece l5 and is not disturbed once it has been incorporated in the shoe, whereas in ordinary methods the heel pocket lining must be lifted for the insertion of the molded counter after the turninx operation and, necessarily, before any shank piece can be inserted. It should be further noted that although the vamp and heel pocket are separately incorporated into the shoe structure, they are nevertheless tied securely together by the tacks 22 and because they are both secured to the shank piece l6 as well as to the sole H]. In the ordinary turn opera slipper the vamp may not be securely united to the shank p1ece.

- The shoe or our invention may be termed a semi-turn shoe because the forepart is made by the usual steps of turn shoemaking while the heel pocket is never turned but is originally constructed in right-side-out condition. The forepart, moreover, is secured to the sole by conventional turn sewing while the shank is secured by cement and the heel seat by nailing or tacking.

It must be understood that the foregoing description has been illustrative of one specific embodiment of our novel method and shoe and that there are many possible variations in the method and materials used which would nevertheless be expressive of the spirit of our invention, and the scope of our invention is not limited to the description and drawings made herein but should be determined by reference to the appended claims.

Having thus described and illustrated our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method of shoemaking, which comprises temporarily securing a turn sole to a last, working a vamp over the last in inside out condition, sewing the vamp to the sole except at the rear corners of the vamp, removing the last, turning the vamp and sole, temporarily securing a shank piece and shank stiffener to the bottom of a second last, and inserting the second last into the turned vamp, providing a previously molded heel pocket containing a molded counter, lifting up the rear end of the sole, slipping the flange of the heel pocket in under the sole and over the shank piece and vamp corners, tacking the front corners of the heel pocket to the rear corners of the vamp and to the shank piece, cementing the shank of the sole to the flange of the heel pocket, tacking the flange of the heel pocket to the heel seat of the shank piece, and attaching a heel.

2. A method of shoemaking which comprises forming the forepart of a shoe by the conventional turn method, providing a shank piece and a previously molded heel pocket containing a counter, securing the rear ends of the vamp of the forepart to the shank piece, securing the forward ends of the flange of the heel pocket to the rear ends of the vamp and to the shank piece, and cementing the sole to the heel pocket.

3. A method of shoemaking which includes the steps of sewing a vamp to a turn sole in such a manner as to leave the rear corners of the vamp unsewn for about an inch in length, separately providing a heel seat pocket unit with an inturned flange, assembling said unit with the vamp on a last with the forward ends of its flange interposed between the sole and the unsewn corners of the vamp, and then securing the overlapping parts of the vamp and heel seat pocket unit to the sole.

4. A method of shoemaking which comprises securing the margin of a lasted vamp to a sole at all but the rear corners of the vamp, lifting the rear end of the sole, securing the rear corners of the vamp to a shank piece, securing the forward corners of the flange of a heel pocket to the rear corners of the vamp and to the shank piece, replacing the rear end of the sole, and cementing the sole to the flange of the heel pocket.

5. A method of shoemaking which comprises securing the margin of the forward portion of a vamp to a sole by the turn method but leaving the rear ends of the vamp free, temporarily securing a shank piece to a last, placing the last in the vamp, securing the rear ends of the vamp to the shank piece, securing the forward ends of a heel pocket to the rear ends of the vamp, and securing the sole to the heel pocket.

6. A method of shoemaking which comprises forming the forepart of a shoe by the conventional turn method, providing a shank piece and a mold-ed heel pocket containing a counter having a full length attaching flange, securing the rear end of the vamp to the shank piece, securing the forward ends of the heel pocket and the ends of the flange of the counter to the rear ends of the vamp and to the shank piece, and securing the sole to the heel pocket.

EDWARD W. WILKINSON. GEORGE D. HURD. 

